Urban Legends
by ncfan
Summary: Elenwë contends with an urban legend, her own uncertainty, and finds some help where she wasn't expecting it.


I own nothing.

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Elenwë knew how the Noldor liked to characterize her people as being superstitious. True enough, but Elenwë had lived among the Noldor and watched the behavior of the upper class long enough to know that however superstitious the Minyar might be, the Noldor were worse.

A crack appearing in someone's window was taken as a signal that the family who lived in that house would soon encounter financial difficulties. Elenwë wondered if this didn't have something to do with the high cost of replacing windows in Tirion, considering that the vast majority of Aman's master glassmakers lived in Taniquetil. Cows with a white mark in the shape of a diamond on their foreheads were reputed to produce more milk than the rest. Somehow, Elenwë doubted it was a coincidence that dairy farmers pushed these cows harder than the others. Cats with mismatched eyes were considered ill-starred and were often killed. It always amazed Elenwë, when she went with Turukáno to visit his cousins, how many cats with mismatched eyes there were on Arafinwë's estate, cats Finwë's youngest son had saved from death; sometimes she wondered if this was the reason Arafinwë received so few callers. There were a multitude of other superstitions and little folk beliefs besides.

The royal family themselves did not seem to hold with such superstitions. From what Elenwë knew of him, Finwë was not even remotely superstitious a person. Minyarin superstitions spoke more of malicious spirits and tended to view Noldorin superstitions as errant nonsense. It would not have surprised Elenwë at all to learn that Indis had passed these beliefs on to her children, and from them to their children.

There was a certain belief of the Noldor's that caught Elenwë's eye in particular.

She had only become acquainted with it when she and Turukáno were betrothed. A Noldorin lady could be heard joking with her brother as Elenwë passed them in a hall in the palace: "She should be careful not to visit the well on Market Street, lest she sees the old queen." Elenwë stopped and stared questioningly at them, but the two only nodded and left, laughing to themselves.

It was Indis who explained it to her, frowning unhappily as she did so. "There are those who, yes, believe that if one ventures to the well off of the great market square during Telperion's light, they will encounter Míriel Serindë, or her shade. The common belief among the Noldor is that she will appear only to nissi who are engaged to be married, warning them not to wed their future husbands." Indis had then tossed her head, a pained look appearing on her face, and added, "Don't pay it any mind, Elenwë. That story is likely nothing more than the product of drunkenness and an overactive imagination."

But in spite of Indis's advice, Elenwë found the story swimming in her mind at all hours. Amarië, the only other lady-in-waiting of Indis's to stay in her service for more than a few years before returning to the mountain, thought it nonsense as much as Indis did, and had significantly fewer reservations about saying so. "Oh, honestly, Elenwë. The Noldor love conjuring tales out of the ether about Þerindë because she was the only Quendë ever to die in Aman—I would tell you some of the stories that I have heard, but they strain both credulity and propriety. The chronicles clearly state that Þerindë went to rest in the Houses of the Dead, and that she remains there to this day. Besides, if this story _was_ true, it would mean that Þerindë rejected the care of Lord Mandos and chose to become a houseless spirit. Who among the Calaquendi would do such a thing?"

Turukáno had heard of the tale, but he told Elenwë the same thing that Indis had ("Please don't worry, Elenwë; it's naught but a story."). With all the gallantry expected of a child of the House of Finwë, Irissë promised that she would protect Elenwë from any angry ghosts. Little Arakáno stared up at them in confusion and said that he thought that ghosts only existed in _stories_, until Turukáno hushed him and sent him outside to play.

Despite everything she heard from those in Tirion whose opinions Elenwë esteemed the most, she still found the old legend playing on her thoughts. It just stuck in her imagination, like all the old tales of starlit, perilous Endóre she had heard from her mother as a child. So it happened one day, during the Mingling of the Lights when Malinalda's light was giving way to Silpion's, that she told Indis that she was going for a walk out in the city.

Elenwë did not expect to encounter any resistance. Indis rarely called on the services of her ladies-in-waiting by this time of day, preferring to let them have this time before sleep to themselves. But perhaps because Elenwë rarely went out for walks by herself, Indis looked at her and, slightly anxiously, told her, "Be sure to return by the third hour of Telperion's light."

"I will, Highness," Elenwë promised. She retrieved her purse from the ladies-in-waiting's apartments, and quit the palace complex.

The Noldor and the Minyar intermarried more than the Minyar did with the Falmari. Between that and the constant presence of merchants from Taniquetil and the other Minyarin settlements, no one in the streets seemed to think of Elenwë's presence as unusual. No one who was closing up their shops looked twice at Elenwë's fair hair or the stole she wore over her hair and draped over her shoulders. She was glad for that; Elenwë still vividly remembered how out of place and uncomfortable she had felt when she first came to live in Tirion.

Elenwë crossed the great market with more ease than she would have had if it was market day, even at this time of day when most of the merchants and traders licensed to sell there would have already taken their stalls down. After so many years living in Tirion, Elenwë could navigate its streets with ease, and it was no trouble for her to find Market Street. Halfway between the entrance from the great market square and the intersection with the next street, the street widened, and there sat the well.

There was no one there to draw water at this time of day, when the sky had only a thin skim of Malinalda's gold light and Silpion's was just beginning to be painted over the stars. Elenwë was glad of that; she would have looked odd indeed, sitting on the steps of the well by herself, without anyone to speak to. She sighed softly, swept her rose-colored skirt, and sat down on the stone steps of the well.

The silence still struck her, after all this time.

No one who lived in some settlement away from the three main cities of the Calaquendi would have ever called Tirion 'quiet' (Frankly, they wouldn't have called any of them quiet, but that was beside the point). The city of the Noldor was exactly what you would expect of such a people. It was a bustling city, full of the sounds of smiths striking metal with hammers, customers haggling (sometimes to the point of violence) with vendors, sheep baying as they were led to market, and so on. But once Silpion's light took ascendance over Malinalda's, all of that stopped. The loudest sounds to be heard were dogs barking in the distance and the assorted sounds of a smith or two working late into the night.

It was never like this in Taniquetil. In Taniquetil, there was always noise, whether the light painting the starry sky was gold or silver. Not without cause was Taniquetil renowned as the city of bells. The Minyar's city hosted a multitude of bells, bells in great towers that rung the hours, bells that were rung to celebrate births and weddings, bells that were rung for no specific reason other than because they could. There were as many singers as there were in Alqualondë, and wind chimes that tinkled and chimed in even the slightest breeze. Elenwë was used to falling asleep to the sound of music. For the first week or so living in Tirion, she could hardly sleep at all, finding the silence to be so unnatural. In Tirion, even the most celebrated of festivals wound down before Malinalda's light could ascend once more.

Her mother had warned her that she would find life in Tirion very strange after growing up in Taniquetil. _"Just take care, my daughter, that you do not lose yourself in such a place. Tirion is not Elerrína. It is not your home and can never be. Do not lose yourself in the Noldor's ways."_

In just a few months, Elenwë would wed with one of the princes of the Noldor, and Taniquetil would not be home anymore. Truth be told, it had not been home in practice for many years now, but now it would neither be home in name. Elenwë's visits home, to her family, would become rarer and rarer. Her family would not _be_ her family anymore; she would become a member of the House of Finwë, and would no longer be a daughter of Lavaraldo and Elenilmë. Though she would still look like a Minya, she would by her marriage become a Noldo.

As the sky took on a shade of gentle silver (the colors of the sky were never so vibrant in Tirion as they were in Taniquetil; Elenwë sometimes felt as though the dullness would devour her), Elenwë sat alone and thought.

She was happy to be marrying Turukáno. Elenwë loved him and knew that this was better than many could claim. Marrying "of free will" really didn't have much of an appeal to her, and Elenwë knew of many marriages that had fallen apart, because "free will" wasn't as binding or as powerful as love. They loved each other, and surely the love they shared would allow their marriage to remain happy unto the breaking of the world.

But Elenwë knew that she was giving up far more than her claim to being a daughter of Lavaraldo and Elenilmë by marrying Turukáno. She would be expected not only to be called a Noldo, but to dress like one, talk like one, and act like one as well. The Noldor expected nothing less of the nissi who married into the royal house. Indis would have these cycles of acting more like a Minya or more like a Noldo, dressing and talking and behaving more like one or the other. Elenwë knew that she was doing it out of homesickness, but the Noldor had little patience for this vacillation and it was only one of the reasons why many of them had little patience for Indis as their queen.

Elenwë told herself that she could give up all of this for love. But sitting in the silence, the enormity of what she was planning to do weighed on her, sometimes.

The minutes passed by and by. Elenwë, who had never been a keen judge of time, was not sure if she needed to start back towards the palace complex or not. She did not feel like walking. She felt more like she could have slept there, with her head pillowed against the stone.

Out of the gathering mist, a figure approached.

Elenwë started and stared as she noticed the person approaching her from the direction of the great market square. For a moment, she was like a little girl again who believed that ghosts would visit if she had done something wrong, and her heart began to pound. But as the person drew nearer, she recognized her, hastily stood and dropped into a deep bow. "Princess Findis!"

Tall and inscrutable, wearing green and a Minyarin stole over her hair and shoulders as she often did, Findis stared at Elenwë out of unfathomable dark eyes. "Mother sent me out to look for you," she said quietly. "You were supposed to be back an hour ago."

Elenwë felt her face darken with embarrassment. She should not have done this at all. "My apologies, Highness. I… I lost track of time."

Findis nodded dismissively. "I imagine you will be chastised for making her worry, but Mother will just be happy to see that you are safe." She peered past her to the well. "After your inquiries over the past few days, I had a feeling that you might be here."

At that, Elenwë was sure that her face had darkened even further, and was thankful that the light of the sky was relatively dim, and that no one had seen fit to light the lamps on this street. Of course Findis, who was nothing if not observant, would have taken note of Elenwë's newfound fascination with this well. But discerning what she _thought_ of Elenwë's new fascination would be another matter entirely.

The princess stepped past Elenwë to stare down into the depths of the well. "I imagine," she murmured, "that you are acquainted with the stories that are told about this well."

Elenwë nodded, wishing she could just sink down into the earth at her feet.

Findis either didn't notice or didn't care about her discomfiture. "This was a well that Míriel Serindë frequented in life, coming here to get water even though there is a well on the palace grounds and many would argue that it is not fitting for the queen to draw her own water. Father tried to stop her once, but when Míriel Serindë had her heart set on something, there was no stopping her." She employed the sort of dry tone that would not have been out of place in a schoolmaster's voice. "Thought it is highly improbable, many like to claim that her shade still visits this well, and—" here, she turned her dark gaze on Elenwë "—that she will come to attempt to dissuade nissi from marrying their betrothed."

The silence between them was resounding.

"Do you no longer wish to marry my nephew, Elenwë?" Findis asked quizzically.

"No, Highness!" Elenwë exclaimed, throwing up her hands defensively.

Findis made a small sound in the back of her throat. She ran her fingers over the lip of the well gently. "I doubt… I doubt that Turukáno will bar you from visiting your family in Taniquetil. He is not the sort to view marriage as a husband's complete and unconditional authority over his wife. He is not the sort who believes that he has the right to dictate where his wife goes, who she speaks to and who she associates with. I doubt that he will treat you in such a way."

"Yes, Highness. I… I know that." And she felt rather ashamed that she had needed to be reminded of that.

For a few moments, the princess was silent. Elenwë could not help but reflect that the reassurance she had just been given was possibly the most she had ever heard Findis say at once. Finwë's oldest daughter was not the sociable sort. She was as of yet unmarried, and the only one of the High King's children still living in the palace. She went to court, as was only fitting, but rarely drew attention to herself. Elenwë herself, in all the years that she had lived here, had never exchanged more than a few sentences over the course of a month at a time with Findis.

Why was Princess Findis suddenly having this discussion with her? She'd not gotten the impression that Findis really cared that much about who her nephews married, and how the nissi they married felt about leaving their families. It was difficult to gauge what Findis did and did not care about, but Elenwë had not thought that this was something Findis particularly cared about.

"So why did you come here, if not to seek the advice of one long dead?"

The question was a sudden one, and accompanied by an especially piercing stare on Findis's part. Elenwë couldn't help but feel a bit put on the spot, but this time, she had a ready answer for Findis, one that did not leave her feeling gauche and inadequate. "Well, everyone I have spoken to says that the appearance of Míriel Þerindë here is just rumor and nonsense. However, I thought that, on the off-chance that it was fact and not rumor, I might…"

Findis raised her eyebrows. "I see what you're getting at, Elenwë. However—" she cast her gaze all around where Elenwë was standing "—I do not see here the proper equipment for dealing with houseless spirits."

Elenwë smiled sheepishly and took a small, stained-glass house out of her purse.

Findis took the house out of Elenwë's hands and actually bestowed upon her a rare smile. She opened the little latched door, looked inside, and her smile widened. "Jam made from the fruit of the yavannamírë tree, to entice the spirit, and a house to lock it in. 'For the houseless will always long for a home'," she went on, and Elenwë recognized her words as being a verse from an old text on spirits. "'And the colored glass will restrain them, and keep them from seeking the living as homes'."

All this, Findis would likely have learned from the years she spent as a girl in Ingwë's court. The royal children of the House of Ingwë had been given a thorough grounding in spiritual matters, and it was unlikely that their cousin would have been treated any differently during the time that she lived among them. Elenwë had learned it from her paternal grandmother, a priest and exorcist devoted to Irmo. Though she was not vested and, given that she was going to live among the Noldor, never could be, Elenwë had been given education in these matters. She had never needed to use it in Tirion, and sometimes Elenwë did not know whether to be grateful for it or saddened by it.

Findis shot Elenwë a slightly amused look down the bridge of her nose. "You are not much of an exorcist, Elenwë."

"No, Highness." Elenwë smiled ruefully. "But I do not know anyone else in this city who could have filled the role in my place."

"True." Findis handed Elenwë back the little house, and Elenwë stowed it in side of her purse. The princess walked down the steps from the well and back towards the great market square. Elenwë nearly had to jog to keep up with her. "Come, Elenwë. Mother will be waiting for us both."

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Turukáno—Turgon  
Arafinwë—Finarfin  
Irissë—Aredhel  
Arakáno—Argon

Minyar—the first clan of the Elves of Cuiviénen; the precursors of the Vanyar, named for Imin and Iminyë (the original Vanyar); the name that many of the Vanyar still use for themselves (singular: Minya) (adjective form: Minyarin)  
Nissi—women (singular: nís)  
Quendë—Elf (plural: Quendi) (Quenya)  
Calaquendi—Elves of light, specifically those Elves who live in Aman, especially during the Years of the Trees (singular: Calaquendë) (Quenya)  
Endóre—Middle-Earth (Quenya)  
Malinalda—'Tree of Gold', a name of Laurelin (Quenya)  
Silpion—'Shining Lights' a name of Telperion (Quenya)  
Falmari—those among the Teleri who completed the journey to Aman; the name is derived from the Quenya _falma_, '[crested] wave.'  
Elerrína—'Crowned with stars'; another name for Taniquetil  
Yavannamírë—'Jewel of Yavanna', a fragrant evergreen tree with scarlet fruit


End file.
